Damien stood firm, ready, as the zombie finally turned toward him. Its face was horribly disfigured—there were no eyes, no nose, only a giant mouth filled with layers of sharp teeth, made only for eating. Its bulky, muscle-packed body showed it was built for fighting.
The monster let out a roar. The sound shook the whole place, and lumps of half-eaten flesh flew from its mouth, splattering across the floor and even into the air.
The disgusting sight made Damien's stomach turn, but he quickly forced himself to stay calm. He drew his katana from its sheath.
The katana, as if aware of the powerful enemy in front of him, gave off a faint silver glow. A dim light ran along its blade, but Damien was too focused on the battle to notice.
His skeletons also got into position. At the front stood the swordsman skeleton, eager to charge into battle.
The captain skeleton stayed in the middle, ready to command and support the others.
The monster, which Damien quickly named Cordbeast the moment he saw it, lunged toward them.
Its first target was the swordsman skeleton. The swordsman slashed fast with its blade, leaving shallow cuts on the Cordbeast's thick body, but the wounds closed almost instantly.
The other skeleton soldiers joined in, stabbing and slashing, but the result was the same. Small cuts appeared, then healed right away as if nothing had happened.
Seeing the situation, Damien quickly gave the order to retreat.
As they pulled back, two skeletons were smashed apart. Their soul flames went out, and they were gone forever.
Damien looked back while retreating. The Cordbeast tried to chase but stopped at the edge of its area, unable to move past a certain limit.
He quickly used his new skill, Soul Scan, on the monster. The result showed: Tier 0, Level 4.
"Too strong," Damien thought. He made the decision to abandon the fight.
They ran as fast as they could, leaving the Cordbeast behind. But then, a deafening roar shook the building. Damien froze for a second—his instinct screamed danger. The roar wasn't just noise; it was a call.
All around, from every corner, zombies began to respond. They rushed forward, answering the Cordbeast's command.
"Shit," Damien muttered under his breath.
He quickly ordered his skeletons to form a shield wall to hold the horde while he escaped.
But as he ran, the connection with his skeletons broke one after another. Each flame winked out in his mind, showing their destruction under the endless tide of zombies.
"Where did this many zombies come from? I checked every place already!" Damien thought in shock as he kept running.
Finally, he reached a fence gate that blocked the stairway leading to the upper floor. He slipped through and slammed it shut. Grabbing a metal pipe nearby, he channeled Death Fire into it. The black flames twisted the pipe until it bent and locked the gate tight.
Without stopping, Damien rushed upstairs.
When he reached Alice's floor, she was already standing outside her room, looking worried after hearing the endless roars below.
"What happened, Damien?" Alice asked quickly.
"I'll tell you later. First, pack everything. We can't leave through the front gate. We'll have to find another way." Damien's voice was firm.
At the same time, through his mental link, he ordered the skeleton guarding Jennifer to bring her down immediately.
Finally, the three of them decided on a desperate plan. They tied together a collection of bedsheets and clothes, turning them into a rope. Their only option now was to climb down from the side of the building.
Damien looked out the window of the room. The number of zombies outside wasn't too high. He made a quick plan.
"First, the skeletons," he thought.
He ordered one skeleton to go down using the rope while another held it steady. Slowly, the first skeleton climbed down. Once it touched the ground, Damien commanded it to clear the few zombies wandering nearby.
The skeleton slashed through them easily, making the area safe enough.
Damien followed, sliding down the rope carefully. When his feet hit the ground, he quickly dragged the fallen zombie corpses together, piling them up in one place.
Alice and Jennifer came down next. Their faces were pale with fear, but they forced themselves to climb down, step by step, until they stood beside Damien.
Finally, only one skeleton was left on the upper floor. Damien tried to summon it back to his mind space but failed. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he gave the order:
"Secure the rope and climb."
The skeleton tied the rope to a table and began to descend. But the knot wasn't strong enough. Halfway down, the rope slipped loose.
The skeleton crashed to the ground with a sickening crack. It wasn't destroyed, but its bones were badly damaged. Its ankle was broken, and several parts of its body were shattered.
Skeletons could recover with time if they reattached their bones, but they didn't have that luxury now.
Damien made a hard choice. He ordered the broken skeleton to sit in the middle of the zombie corpse pile.
He raised his hand and began to chant. His voice echoed in the night, carrying words that sounded old, dark, and filled with a strange power.
The language was unknown, but it gave Alice and Jennifer a shiver, as if they were hearing something evil and forbidden.
Slowly, Damien's death energy turned into green flames in his hands. The flames flew toward the pile of skeletons and zombie bodies, forming magic patterns and symbols. The green fire slowly devoured the bodies, melting them into nothing.
When the fire faded, a new figure appeared. It was not a skeleton. It was a headless horseman riding a dark horse. The horse's hooves burned with blue fire, and the horseman carried a long sword.
Damien quickly checked the horseman's power. It was Tier 0, Level 3—stronger than most undead he could summon at this stage.
Normally, sacrificing dead or living beings would only give him a Tier 0 undead, but this time he got a headless horseman, more powerful than himself.
The horseman stepped down from the horse and knelt before Damien. Then a skeleton head appeared in the air and spoke, "Thank you, master, for giving me this new life and making me stronger."
Damien nodded. The horseman rose, ready to follow his commands, its power and loyalty clear.